from JEAN KASSONGO in Kinshasa, DRC
KINSHASA, (CAJ News) – AT least 266 people have died from cholera in West and Central Africa since the beginning of the year.
This nonetheless indicates 30 deaths lower than the same period in 2019.
“The pace of the 2020 epidemics is almost identical to those of 2019,” the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) stated.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the worst affected by the water borne disease.
It has 12 076 cases, which constitutes 86 percent of the total in the two regions.
Cameroon has 991 cases, followed by neighbouring Nigeria, which has documented 730 cases.
In DRC, the provinces of Haut Katanga, Lualaba, North Kivu, South Kivu and Tanganyika have the highest number of cases.
The number of deaths is particularly high in Haut Katanga with 109 deaths, representing 62,6 percent of the country’s deaths.
In Cameroon, the most active outbreak in recent weeks is the South region, which recorded its first cases in May.
The region has already reported 333 cases and 12 deaths. The health district of Kribbi is the most affected.
Cholera is transmitted through contaminated food and water.
It thrives in situations where there is conflict, characterised by populations living in uninhabitable conditions.
An outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) in affected countries is further straining health resources.
– CAJ News